caribbean circle

[CFR]

hi from Germany, i just finishing my boat, selling the house and we will head south starting in May. We are planning to leave from the canaries arround Christmas and now we wonder how to arrange the best carribean circle. We have time and espect to stay 2-3 years in the carib before going to Panama and beyond. We like to see everything from Bahamas / Florida down to Trinidad for wintering.

How should we travel ? From Canaries to the BVI and after that slowly down south, wintering in Trinidad or Grenada and next year going north to Cuba maybe and the circle again . How to go to the Bahamas withou a tough way back ?

I like to leave the boat some weeks in trinidad and travel thru the US where we never have been before.

Thanks already for any advice

[clifford sloan]

[Best arraingment would be to put the Bahamas first or last on your list of places to visit because the airfares and travel time to the U.S. is less than anywhere else in the Caribbean. Trinidad used to be nice but increasing crimes against boaters makes it a questionable place to leave your vessel alone. Hurricane season runs from June to November and while the Bahamas has some nice places to take cover, the island are relatively flat, unlike neighbors to the South with deeper water and higher elevations.
Welcome aboard ! Like everything else, be aware this is just an opinion of one who has done it and nothing is written in stone.
All the best,
Clif

[boatman61]

Hi there CFR... congratulations on getting so close as to be able to plan the voyage....
If I was doing this and had three years to play at it I'd cross the Atlantic and stop of at Barbados.. then head for Grenada and spend the rest of that year doing Grenada and the surrounding islands and heading down southwards to Trinidad for the hurricane season.
Come December a run N stopping at Saba then St Martin and work my way slowly S again before heading for Trinidad in June...
The 3rd year head straight for the BVI's... its only 400 miles on a more or less broad reach.. finish of in the Bahamas then early May run for Bermuda or the Azores.
One tip... set up your visa's for the US and islands before you head out... it can be a real PITA I've been told if one just turns up.. There is another option.. stay put for hurricane season.. lots do and just move N or S if one looks like getting close.. then go back...

[CFR]

Hi yes it is an exiting year for us to come. good advice reg. US visa, much easier from here in Germany then later elsewhere. Stay put during summer i was considering in grenada which should be nice. 400 miles is not that much to go once a year.

bahamas or florida is maybe not an easy and safe option for the summer ? not much shelter arround. my insurance is quite ok but i have to be on board in case of a named storm or the boat has to be at land in a hurrican proofed storage ( steel crate and or deep in the ground)

anyway this summer i will spent in spain and portugal and if it is really nice we maybe even would add one more year here, overwintering in lagos

[boatman61]

If you want to keep your expense's down in Portugal.. try anchoring at Portimao... if the weather turns ugly the marina lies on the opposite bank of the river... a fast quick move before any storm arrives.
Good holding... I used to go in 3-4 times a month for laundry/looong showers and bulk shopping in Portimao..
The other option is the Faro/Olhao lagoon...